FLORENCE, S.C. – For the fourth consecutive year, the Francis Marion University women’s soccer team has earned a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award, this time ranking third out of all 314 NCAA Division I women’s programs. These most recent awards are for the 2006-07 school year.

Francis Marion ranked sixth among the more than 600 schools that sponsor women’s soccer (all divisions) with a cumulative 3.59 team grade point average for the academic year. Only eight other Palmetto State women’s programs made the list.

The University of Central Michigan and Murray State University paced all Division I programs with 3.61 grade point averages.

“I am extremely proud of this ranking,” said fifth-year Patriot head coach Marty Beall. “This is a testament to the hard work our student-athletes have put in, both on and off the field. They are true examples of the moniker “student-athlete’.”

Altogether 295 women’s programs from all divisions were honored for compiling a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

This past fall, the Patriots completed their first season as a full-fledged NCAA Division I member with a 10-7-1 record, the team’s second straight season with double-digit wins.

In 2005-06, Francis Marion ranked 30th among all schools (tied for ninth in Division I) with a 3.42 GPA, while in 2004-05, FMU ranked 81st among all schools with a 3.35 GPA, and in 2003-04, the Patriots ranked 58th with a 3.39 GPA.